Director Customer Programs and Solutions - Customer Policy & Solutions - Akron FirstEnergy Headquarters at FirstEnergy

Job description

FirstEnergy at a Glance We are a forward-thinking electric utility powered by a diverse team of employees committed to making customers’ lives brighter, the environment better and our communities stronger. FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, FirstEnergy includes one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, and a regulated generating fleet with a total capacity of more than 3,500 megawatts. About the Opportunity This is an open position with FirstEnergy Service Company, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. This is a full-time, on-site position located in one of the FirstEnergy locations in: Akron, OH; Greensburg, PA, Reading, PA; Holmdel, NJ, Fairmont, WV and Frederick, MD. This position is within the FE Pennsylvania organization and reports to the President, FE Pennsylvania. Key responsibilities include: Strategic Leadership Develop and execute FirstEnergy's enterprise strategy for customer programs, distributed energy resources (DERs), electrification, virtual power plants (VPPs), demand flexibility, and emerging customer energy solutions. Identify opportunities to leverage customer participation to support grid reliability, affordability, resiliency, peak demand management, and evolving system needs. Serve as the company's business lead for customer-facing grid modernization initiatives, ensuring alignment between customer needs, regulatory requirements, and utility operational objectives. Build a multi-state roadmap for customer program expansion across FirstEnergy's operating companies. Regulatory Strategy & Program Development Lead development of regulatory filings, business cases, testimony support, and stakeholder engagement associated with customer programs and grid flexibility initiatives. Partner with Regulatory Affairs, Rates, Legal, Engineering, Operations, and State Leadership teams to secure program approvals and cost recovery mechanisms. Represent FirstEnergy before public utility commissions, state agencies, consumer advocates, legislators, and industry stakeholders. Monitor evolving state and federal policies affecting electrification, DERs, demand response, customer affordability, and grid modernization. Virtual Power Plants & Grid Flexibility Lead strategy, design, procurement, implementation, and evaluation of virtual power plant (VPP) programs and customer flexibility initiatives. Develop frameworks for utilizing customer assets, including thermostats, electric vehicles, batteries, solar, and smart appliances, to provide grid value. Collaborate with Transmission, Distribution, and Planning organizations to identify opportunities where customer programs can support reliability, congestion relief, peak demand reduction, and infrastructure optimization. Establish methodologies to evaluate customer flexibility performance and program value. Electrification & Transportation Programs Lead customer electrification strategies including electric vehicles, managed charging, fleet electrification, school bus initiatives, and other beneficial electrification programs. Oversee design and delivery of EV customer programs across residential, commercial, fleet, and public sector markets. Develop partnerships with automakers, charging providers, fleet operators, technology vendors, academic institutions, and industry organizations. Identify innovative solutions supporting transportation electrification while ensuring cost-effectiveness and customer value. Distributed Energy Resources & Emerging Technologies Guide evaluation and deployment strategies for DERs including solar, battery storage, managed charging, demand response, and transactive energy solutions. Assess technology trends and market developments to identify opportunities for customer program innovation. Support integration of customer resources into broader utilit